Feeling bad for the Esterbrook forum...

[Kelly G]

I just couldn't stand to watch the Estie forum languish. You have to love Esterbrooks, perhaps the most durable vintage pen around. Sturdy plastic, stainless steel furniture, exchangeable nibs - what more could you want - oh yeah - they are inexpensive to boot.

I'm particularly fond of the Transitional J models - jeweled top and flat bottom. I think the only one I'm missing is the black version - if you don't count all the jewel combinations.

I have a red J in constant use - it stays on/in my desk at work. It was an interesting find because it still has a pliable original Esterbrook sac installed. That is why it stays on the desk rather than my pocket - I'm expecting it to fail any time - but it has been three years now since I found it and inked it up.

What is your favorite Estie and nib?

[bardolator]

I'll add some love! I just bought a dark copper J with a NOS 9556 nib. It's both finer and stiffer than I'm used to (I also have a Pelikan M400 and a Lamy Al-Star, both with medium nibs), but I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly!

[penspouse]

The Dark Red and Dark Blue Js are my favorites. I'll take any nib that writes as smooth as........ (fill in your description here).

[TWRDO]

I thought about starting something here too but thought I'd leave it to someone more knowledgeable in the way of the Estie.

I recently started picking up Esties to fix up and resell, so I've been able to try a few different pens and nibs now. So far, my favorite Estie is a silver J. As far as nibs go, I definitely prefer the tipped 3xxx and 9xxx nibs over the untipped nibs. My favorite so far is a 9968 - a wonderfully smooth broad which I won't be reselling.

[riffraff]

That 9968 sounds nice. I need to find one of those.

Some Estie ramblings:

I find the SJ to be a tad too small for me, though a nice, compact pen. Even the J seems a little small, but do-able.

I've recently re-sac'd a few J's and some Estie desk-pens.

I need to take an "eight-ball" desk set to work.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I need to take an "eight-ball" desk set to work.

I've got a 444 Dip-Less on my desk, and funnily enough no one has asked to borrow a pen since it arrived. I have to admit that the difference between SJ and J is so subtle I don't really find any performance difference. I do have a very wide range of tolerances, tho', so I'm not to be taken as an example of anything other than an indiscriminate FP user.

[Tortoise]

I love them! I think my favorite is the copper colored J, but I like the grey & blue a whole lot, too. It's so nice to be able to switch out nibs whenever the mood strikes. I like so many of the nibs, it's really hard to choose a #1, but among my favorites are 2668, 9284, 2442, 9460, 9668, 9550, & 1555.

[liapuyat]

I have 2 SJ's and 4 J pens. My favorites would be my blue SJ with a 2048 nib (my first ever vintage pen), and my copper J with a 9556 nib. They're so reliable! I also have a few loose nibs in case I want to swap them.

[lovemy51]

over here i got: 1 deluxe in black with silver cap, 3 SJ's (red, brown, black), 1 SJ trans (green) and 3 J's (grey, blue and green). 2 desk sets with 8 ball (black and navy grey) and just bought a 447 (444?) dip-less set that's on the way.

as far as nibs, my fav is the 9668 med that came with my grey desk set. it's soooooooo smooth!!!

regards.

[AndyH]

The Estie J series combines, to me, the aesthetics of the form follows function school of design with some truly beautiful plastics and usable, well-designed nibs.

I have full size and LJ/SJ series pens in copper, blue, red, green, and silver. I use the full size versions with darker inks of the same barrel color and the slim series in brighter or more vivid inks for annotating and highlighting.

For note taking, the 2314-M series nibs and the 1555 Gregg nibs are my favorites, while the 2314-F series are perfect for annotating and editing. I generally use Noodler's or PR inks, and have a color coding system for red, green, blue, brown, or black notes. The Gregg nibs perform as advertised, rarely drying out and always at the ready.

The Estie Manifold nibs are also perfect IMHO for their intended use - filling out multipart NCR forms. My go to pen for filling out inspection forms is a fine poin manifold Estie. I can read it well, even on the third copy, and yet it provides the fun and creativity of using a fountain pen rather than a dull, disposable modern biro.

All in all, I never go a single day at work without using and enjoying an Estie pen and nib.

[sera0516]

Esterbrooks were the go-to pen when a good company wanted to distribute work-a-day pens to their employees---well, those were the days, the boss wants everyone to have a company pen to use, and what was distributed as office supplies we now treasure. My own favorite J is one I had to re-sac, that still says, along the length of the barrel, "Bell System Property."

[John the Monkey]

I love Esterbrooks - my first was a lovely blue J, and that one hooked me!

My collection is a modest one - the original blue J (2556 nib), a black J (9556 nib), a grey LJ (2668 nib), black SJ (9468 nib, and the first pen I ever resacced) and a red SJ (2442 nib). The "J" is my favourite type, followed by the LJ, I think. I agree with the comments that the SJ is, perhaps, a little too small, although mine write beautifully, and both are handsome looking pens that I was fortunate to get in nice external condition - the red in particular is very striking.

I covet the Copper and Green Js, which have become the very examplar of the old saying "A man's reach should exceed his grasp..." for me, escaping me more times than I care to mention!

[manoeuver]

I've got one- don't know the model. bought it when I was having an ebay problem. Haven't inked it- I don't know if the sac inside is any good. I've been using it as a stylus for my boogie board...

[eriquito]

I've a soft spot in my heart for Esterbrooks. That led to them nearly taking over my collection at one time. Now, I have but one lovely Dollar Pen. It hasn't gotten much use lately owing to the fact that it is nibless. But take heart, I'll find the perfect nib at the LA Pen Show =)

Eric
Son of Ragnar

[jor412]

Not too long ago, my first vintage pen purchase was a copper Esterbrook J with a 9556 nib. It's still one of my favorite pens. I don't have a lot of them but apart from the J I have 2 SJs (red and blue) and one blue M2. I have a 2048, 9450, 9968, 1555, and 2550 nib and I have 2 9556 nibs. I really enjoy using these nibs. Some of them have a bit of tooth to them and that's part of what I like about the Esterbrook writing experience. I also like butter-smooth nibs. The variety is great fun.

[manoli]

Eric --

How could you let your poor Estie get into that position without a mouth to sing her/his words of Wisdom???
I sincerely hope you find her/him a great nib at the pen show,

Signed your fellow Californian...

[KrazyIvan]

I have five Esterbrooks. Three of them are J's in red, green, blue. I like to call them my RGB collection. The other two are Bell Systems SJ's. I think. I am in communications so I thought it would be cool to have some Bell Systems versions.

[SaraRRice]

Still looking for a cherry red pencil.

[Freddy]

I have about twenty Esties, most in working order. I have a couple of dipless pen sets that I like even better than my 8-Ball desk set. The 407 Dipless is filled with Sheaffer Skrip red ink and I find myself going for it a lot when I just want to jot myself a quick note. The pen has a 9556 nib that is quite smooth and the red ink is eye catching enough that the note won't soon be forgotten. On one of my Transitionals and one of my SJ's, Tyler Dahl has custom ground the nibs for me and they are buttery smooth writers.

[pajaro]

Attachment 950

Camraderie.